Page 101 of A Very Merry Mistake

“Ding, ding, ding. You win a prize.” I flip him off.

“I heard you pulled a gun on her ex.”

“I’d do it again in a fucking heartbeat, too. Piece-of-shit scumbag.”

He shakes his head. “Did you at least let her explain herself?”

“I asked her to tell me why she came here. She did. I welcomed the vampire in. I escorted her inside and into my bed and my heart. At the beginning of the year, she would have bought the property after I’d shown her around and introduced her to everyone.”

He narrows his eyes. “She still could.”

“Yeah, you’re right. She probably will. We’re fucked. All of us!” I pick up the whiskey bottle and take another drink.

Hudson rips it out of my hand, and I want to snatch it back, but I know if I stand up, I’ll probably fall.

“How do you know she would’ve gone through with it? I’m not convinced.”

“Everyone knows the Manchesters don’t give two shits about people. They’ve wanted this land for thirty years, and I guess they’ll finally get it. I won’t be surprised if we’re all escorted off the premises and she moves in here. She kept sayin’ how much she loved my place. Guess it will be hers in the end.”

Hudson gives me a look. “You’re being dramatic now. And hey, I get it. Your heart and your dick are going through some things. But we’ve got bigger issues to deal with, bro. We need to figure out how to save the farm. My credit is trashed thanks to my shitty ex and her spending problems, and you won’t be able to get that amount of money without signing your life away to a bank. Let’s be real. Getting behind on taxes will happen again if we don’t make a change. We can’t keep operating at a loss and hemorrhaging money every month.”

My eyes blink at two different times. “I can’t have this conversation right now. I think I need a rain check.”

He groans. “Tomorrow, then.”

Before I can say anything, he sets the whiskey on the counter in the kitchen and then leaves. The door locks behind him. Instead of walking to my bedroom and sleeping on the sheets that smell like Claire, I grab the blanket off the back of the couch. I’m staying right here.

I’ll worry about all the other bullshit tomorrow, because tomorrow absolutely will come. And I’ll still be living out this nightmare I call life.

CHAPTER 27

CLAIRE

ONE WEEK LATER

My life will never be the same, not after a glimpse of what it could have been. For the first two weeks of December, I was the happiest I’ve been in a long time. I’d almost be willing to say…ever.

I miss Texas.

I miss Tinsel.

And I miss Jake.

It wasn’t the sex, but it was how he saw me and recognized me, the real me, when most people don’t.

I’ve not left my penthouse since I returned to the city on a late-night flight. The last time I felt pain like this over a man? Never.

Every meal has been delivered to me.

Every call has been rejected, other than Emma’s.

I don’t want to talk to my father, and the media can fuck off. I’m confident my phone number was leaked, because I’ve received too many random calls.

Dale made a mess of this, and I eventually learned that he was the one who encouraged my father to do the interviews about Merryville.

When I searched it online, there were dozens of articles posted. Jake and his family probably read every one of them, too. My father praised me for researching the town and ensuring no one would outbid him. With unlimited amounts of money, he’s already scared any competitors away. It’s pretty much a done deal.

Article after article, I am mentioned. My picture co-signed this purchase. And for the first time, I don’t want my father’s recognition. Years ago, I’d have felt like I’d accomplished something, having his pride and finally receiving praise, but I cringed when I read the quotes in Business Today. Destroying the Jollys’ homestead isn’t something I can or will ever be proud of.

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